Spencer Griffin's New Music Mondays

 here they are: "Sympathy" by Declan McKenna: So far, every Declan song I've reviewed ("Brazil," "Beautiful Faces," and "Be an Astronaut") has started with the letter B. "Sympathy" officially breaks that pattern. The song also sounds noticeably more chill and retro than his other stuff. For one thing, there's a tuba (or perhaps a synth imitating a tuba) punctuating the song, along with an island-y sounding acoustic guitar, with happy claps underscoring the instruments. This is probably the most fun song Declan has had since he debuted in 2016 with "Brazil." The lyrics of the song seem like a "word salad" of sorts, but perhaps that's part of its charm. Overall, this is a fun, happy tune that seems very fitting for the middle of summer! "Under You" by Foo Fighters: Our only other song of the week is another rumination on Taylor Hawkins' unexpected passing. FF released a song that was as rockin...

 After two weeks of absence, I'm back! Six new songs for a brand new week. Here they are: "Exhausting Lover" by Ben Folds: What's this? Is alt-pop's resident piano man, Ben Folds, suddenly turning to synths instead?! Well, in this song, he appears to be doing just that, at least initially until a bright brass section comes in towards the middle! This IS Ben Folds we're talking about, though, and many of his songs are snarky commentary, so him modernizing his sound might just be a subtle jab at contemporary pop culture, along with some of the lyrics of the song, particularly when he says, "Never gonna say YOLO no mo'." The song tells the tale of a girl who is quite possibly a spoof of recent female celebrities like Kim Kardashian meeting either an unnamed character in the song or possibly Ben himself, a self-described "nerd." As you might expect, things go south for the two rather quickly, and by the end of the song, things get incredibl...